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The space shuttle Atlantis crew on Thursday prepared to embark on the first of five spacewalks during its 11-day mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

Cindy Goodman was having dinner with a group of girlfriends one night when the conversation took a surprising turn.

The nation's financial and economic crisis provided a stress test for the nation's public and private retirement system.

My message to the national media and political pundits on their premature obits on the Republican Party: Quit throwing dirt on our graves!

The average potency of marijuana, which has risen steadily for three decades, has exceeded 10 percent for the first time, the U.S. government will report on Thursday. Increasing potency is leading to higher admissions to emergency rooms and drug treatment programs, officials say. "The children I'm most worried about are children who are heavy users ... people who use it on a daily basis," said Dr. Lawrence Brain, a child psychiatrist in Maryland.

The body of their 2-year-old granddaughter, Caylee Anthony, was found in Florida in December. And their daughter, Casey Anthony, is charged in her death. She could be executed if convicted. It's a case that has gripped America.

Liu Yan, regarded as China's top classical dancer, was to give the performance of a lifetime: She was to dance a solo at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

President Obama on Wednesday turned an issue over his commencement speech at Arizona State University into a joke -- then a lesson about never being satisfied with one's accomplishments. The university said last month that it would not be awarding Obama an honorary degree at the ceremony, saying that "his body of work is yet to come." He called the milestone of graduating from college an important one but urged the graduating students to not rest on their laurels. "Your body of work is yet to come," he said.

Former death row inmate Paul House woke to cries of joy from his mother to learn that he was a free man. "You've been exonerated," his mother told him. "Took 'em long enough," he replied. House spent 22 years on death row for the rape and murder of a neighbor. He left prison last year and was placed under house arrest after the Supreme Court raised issues.

One person died and 150 people were rescued Saturday after an ice floe broke away from land in Lake Erie, a Coast Guard spokesman told CNN. Sheriff Bob Bratton had harsh words for those rescued: "If there was a section in the code about common sense, we would have had 150 arrests out there today."

At least 14 people have been killed in wildfires fueled by strong winds and scorching temperatures in southeastern Australia, police said today. An estimated 30,000 acres were ablaze, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Former presidential candidate Ron Paul criticized President Obama's economic recovery proposal but said Saturday that blame for the financial crisis is deep-seated and includes Republicans who failed to hold the line on spending during the Bush administration.

Germany's Catholic bishops are calling for the expulsion of a former bishop, recently brought back into the church by Pope Benedict XVI, after new reports that he denies the Holocaust.

"We trimmed the fat, fried the bacon and milked the sacred cows," Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska said Friday night after senators reached a deal to trim the $900 billion economic stimulus package to $780 billion. The list of cuts is extensive and includes money for school construction and Head Start.

Polish authorities in Pakistan are monitoring local reports that Taliban militants have executed a kidnapped Polish engineer, a spokesman for the Polish embassy told CNN on Saturday.

Craggy-faced film, television and stage actor James Whitmore has died at 87, the Los Angeles County, California, Sheriff's Department confirmed Saturday.

At least 23 people died Saturday when a protest rally turned violent outside Madagascar's Presidential Palace, a fire official at the main hospital said.

With 17 Grammys, five gold records and -- by his count -- almost 130 albums, polka superstar Jimmy Sturr might just be the most successful musician you've never heard of.

As Gov. Rod Blagojevich's Illinois Senate impeachment trial started, he hit the media circuit, answering questions about Oprah Winfrey, foul language and why he won't resign. Blagojevich told CNN's Larry King he considered approaching Winfrey for an open U.S. Senate seat, and after his arrest drew inspiration from MLK, Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.

Why is it the more we look around the edges of the Wall Street bailout, the more we find reason to ask just what in the world is going on?